Maintainers
This article is based on a species created by Biologicah. "I cannot begin to fathom why these precursors would go out of their way to create such a strangely complex organism, when they could have simply used a series of robots that would serve the same purpose with a lesser chance of error. An even greater mystery is why they have preserved these organisms, knowing full well that a species in the future would deface their structures and take in these organisms for their own use. No matter what they intended, we may as well thank them for it. They have just saved us a significant amount of resources which would have seen use in making machines." - M'rtchan, on the Maintainers' preservation. The Maintainers are a race of genetically engineered molluscoids that are present in both the Commonwealth and the Holy Imperium. They were genetically engineered by an unspecified precursor for the purpose of maintaining stations, ships, etc., as well as doing heavy lifting. They serve the same purpose now in the Commonwealth and the Holy Imperium. Biology "Like, what was the point of making the things float? They can't even move without dragging themselves forward. It's stupid. The precursors that made them were stupid. That's probably why they died."- A very much speciesist individual, on the Maintainers' need to drag themselves forward. The Maintainers are simply a standard carbon-based species, with the typical reliance on the intake of water (but being less demanding due to their limited water loss). Nobody knows where the original species came from. Physical Description Their main features are their 8 tentacles, which end in hands that have 4 finger-like protrusions and two eye stalks that can extend and contract. At birth, they have skin between their tentacles, but it is removed after a year for ease in performing tasks. The 'fingers' have very small suction cups on them for the purpose of grip. The Maintainers can easily detach a limb in case of it getting stuck, but cannot grow a new limb in place of it- they will have to either live without, or get an artificial/organic replacement. Their hands are often jokingly called mini-Htyyws, due to the fingers resembling the mouth of a Htyyw. Their head has 6 eyes, with 3 eyes arranged vertically on either side. The eyes grow larger as you go down the head. They have 2 gas bladders on the front of their head, as well as an additional 4 on the back of their head. These bladders are filled through the intake of helium gas from specially-designed canisters. They have two nostrils above the two gas bladders on the front of their head. Their body is mainly a dull blue colour, with stripes of a more vibrant blue being present on the tentacles. Their hands are light blue, as well as their gas bladders and the skin between the tentacles. The eyes on the stalks are a light green colour. Standard Maintainers will find themselves doing the majority of the work that a Maintainer is expected to do- electrical maintenance, server maintenance, repairs, etc. They are suitably relatively small thanks to this purpose, in order to fit better into the cramped spaces that they may find themselves in. They also have slightly longer fingers in order to be more precise with what they do. These Maintainers usually don't require any technological assistance in staying afloat, due to their ability to inflate their gas bladders further to be able to deal with higher g environments and deflate them in order to avoid going too high in low g environments. They can also slightly stretch out their tentacles. Imperial Maintainers are bred to service the Emperor of the Commonwealth by doing their work on Imperial property. They will also do work in other important locations, such as the Senatorial Towers and the Bastion of Stars. These Maintainers are exclusively the most competent of all Maintainers, often only breeding with other very competent Maintainers. Whilst it's not exactly illegal for an Imperial Maintainer to breed with less competent Maintainers, it's seen as extremely shameful and often ruins the Maintainer's reputation with other Maintainers. Otherwise, Imperial Maintainers are very well-mannered, and are even less sociable than other Maintainers. Despite this, they will not turn down a conversation with those who they 'serve'. They often have the most precise fingers out of any Maintainer, which is an accidental side effect of them only breeding with other competent Maintainers, which often have precise fingers. They also seem to have better eyesight, and are also larger than regular Maintainers. Yyrryyrr/Hryyw's Maintainers (being named after the High Htaaw who was reigning at the time of the HiH's discovery of the Maintainers) are those who do their duties in the Holy Imperium, being unique enough to warrant a distinction from all maintainers in the Commonwealth. These Maintainers are quite sociable, due to the surprising benevolence they've seen from the Holy Imperium. Unlike the Commonwealth, there is no difference between 'standard' Maintainers and the Maintainers that service major areas. These maintainers are quite smaller than any other Maintainers, mainly due to the intricate machinery they had to deal with in the dome they were encountered in, as well as in the Holy Imperium. They also have quite longer fingers/tentacles as a result of the same factor. They also find themselves requiring thrusters in high g environments, due to the limited size of their gas bladders. Transporters are a variation of the Maintainers that are specially adapted to heavy lifting, which generally see use in dockyards, mines, factories, etc. These Transporters are naturally born, with a 50/50 chance of an egg producing a Maintainer or a Transporter. They are significantly larger than every other type of Maintainer, and as a result they require thrusters when out of a low g environment. Prior to being encountered, this type of Maintainer saw no use due to the lack of requirement and could not float due to the gravity level, so they would typically care for young when they were born. This lead to the concept of training centres for the young. The Maintainers have varying strength, which is dependent on the type of Maintainer and the role that the Maintainer in question takes. In terms of durability, the Maintainers are quite easy to kill due to their relatively frail form. As a result, they tend to avoid conflict as much as possible, and are quite susceptible to assault and violent crime. They have a comparatively small brain, which is just large enough to allow for sapience. They also have limited adaptability, as they require technology to allow for service on medium-high g planets. Behaviour Maintainers have a noticeable lack of most emotions usually present in sapient beings, which harms their ability to socialise with other species. This is due to a lack of requirement for them to process emotion: they simply require to be logical and good at problem-solving. This affects their judgement in stressful/dangerous situations, as they have a reduced sense of fear. Their instinct to run away from dangerous situations is more out of their logical conclusion that preserving their life is a more useful option They still retain the basic emotions, but said emotions have less effect in their judgement than with most species. The Maintainers also have a strong sense of morality and compliance, thanks to how they were engineered by the precursors. As the precursors would not want them breaking any rules or disobeying any orders, they were given a strong sense of morality so that they mostly refuse to break the law, as they see it as immoral. This also led them to have a tendency to report a crime, as they are disgusted by the law being broken. Finally, the Maintainers are quite logical, at the detriment of their ability to socialise. This allows them to easily identify and solve most problems that they have to deal with on a regular basis. Their logic has lead to high levels of respect from the Htaaw, as they see the Maintainers as their 'intellectual cousins'. Amusingly, their logic has lead to the Maintainers seeing the Htaaw as delusional zealots, but are polite enough not to express this opinion. Their concept of beauty is found in the form of fully functional equipment and organised workspaces. This is due to their engineered purpose of, well, making sure things still work and are fully organised. The precursors that made them chose the incentive to maintain to be beauty-related, as it would simply be addictive for them to feel euphoria, and inappropriate for them to receive 'pleasure' from seeing functional things. On the other hand, they have been known to vomit upon seeing a wreckage. Reproduction and Life Cycle Maintainers reproduce via external fertilisation. In Maintainer societies, there will be a fertilisation ground where eggs are laid and subsequently fertilised. Fertilisation grounds will often be split up into different castes due to societal expectations. Eggs are not simply fertilised by any Maintainer- the laying Maintainer will choose a partner to fertilise their egg. Eggs themselves are a curiously cone-like shape, albeit less sharp than an actual cone. It is unknown why their eggs are shaped like this, as there is seemingly no evolutionary benefit to this shape rather than a sphere other than ease of egg release at first. The colour of the egg is either white, black or, strangely, orange. The eggs will take around 6 months to hatch, with a clearly underdeveloped baby breaking out of the egg. This baby will slowly pull itself around in the environment it finds itself in, attempting to feel for another member of its species. This is due to it lacking functional eyes thanks to its underdeveloped state. The eyes will begin to function after 2 months. After finding another member of its species for the first time (it can differentiate its own species from others via the feel of the skin), it will immediately cling onto it, which will eventually form a cluster of Maintainer young that keep each other warm. After this occurs, the individual that laid the egg will sacrifice the ability to float to care for its young until the eyes become functional, of which then the young is transferred to a facility that will teach the young how to perform basic tasks. The young will not be supplied with LTA gasses to float during the first year of their life. Rather, they must drag themselves around, without even a form of slime to help themselves along. During this time, they are taught basic tasks such as fiddling with electronics and not being crushed by your own tools. The young are often pampered due to their fragility. Once the year is over, they are provided with LTA gasses, and have to choose their specialisation. From the age of 7, Maintainers are considered old enough to do work. However, their status as being an adult is questionable, as while they do have hormonal activity, they lack the urge to reproduce. Nevertheless, they will begin their service at this age unless they require further training. Maintainers have a reasonably long lifespan, and will only begin to properly deteriorate close to the end of their natural lifespan. History Discovery "It must have been crushing for them to learn that their creators, who they had been waiting for millennia to return, had all died. Like a child learning all of their parents had died on vacation." - Teewakee of Tanteen Station In 94 AV, an expedition lead by UF Captain Meveren Avakamal Tovekenas stumbled across a particularly abnormal moon orbiting a gas giant. An Irioslani scientist by the name of Tihihikit Mikti noticed that a strangely formed cavern existed on the surface of the planet, leading into what was initially thought to be a plateau, but turned out to be an incredibly well-disguised precursor facility. After pointing out this cavern's existence to Meveren, a few probes were sent down to explore this cavern, to see what secrets it contained, if any. Upon entering the cavern, the probes found that the cavern was an entrance to the precursor facility. Upon entry, they detected that the technology was still very much functional, which was quite the surprise, considering its presumed age. After going through a few terminals, they found that the facility contained a unique species that had been designed specifically for the purpose of maintaining facilities and transporting heavy materials to and from space elevators to be sent elsewhere. Upon this discovery, the drones were sent to find the species. It did not take long. After the probes discovered the Maintainers, the first contact protocol was initiated. The scientists reviewing the information sent to them noticed that the messages sent to them were quite similar, like they were sending the same message over and over. Once the language of the Maintainers had been translated, however, they found that all the messages that the Maintainers had sent them ''were ''similar. They had mistaken the Commonwealth for the precursors that constructed the facility. After the mistakes were rectified, they were taken in by the scientists Life in the Commonwealth "Oh, they're wonderful little things. They're just so dedicated to their work, and they make the ''best ''(toast-equivalent)! How could anyone hate these beautiful little floating people?" -A Pakoph, probably Once taken in, the Maintainers were invited to send a diplomat to the Senate in order to discuss how the Maintainers would integrate into Commonwealthian society. They accepted, and a Maintainer was sent to the Senate. It was decided that the Maintainers would be sent to a series of planets to perform their maintenance duties, being recruited by locals and making sure infrastructure didn't break down. More important planets in the Commonwealth were prioritised, such as Emperor's Pride and Jaron. Controversy However, not everyone was supporting of such a solution, and not just because they didn't benefit from Maintainers being on their planet (according to them; the possibility isn't ruled out). People saw the solution as unjust, as it was, in their eyes, the slow erasure of Maintainer culture, as being separated from one another didn't bode too well for the unity of their culture. It eventually got to a point where the Senate had to renegotiate the solution of how the Maintainers were to live in the Commonwealth, and another Maintainer was sent to the Senate on the Maintainers' behalf. It was decided that the Maintainers would be provided their own station near Beacon, as to not erode their culture through separation. The investment into the station was quite high, but after a few years of construction and preparation the hub was completed and inhabited by the Maintainers. The Maintainers took to calling it the Maintainer Breeding and Recruitment Hub.Category:Species Category:Biologicah